Unclear Plots: Five Ways Stories Start on the Wrong Foot

Every story makes a promise. That promise is called “the premise,” and it’s the central concept of your story. It’s a travel brochure for the reader’s imagination that declares, “This is what this story is about. If you want to experience a story like that, start reading!” Simple, right? Unfortunately, communicating a strong premise to your […]

9 Reasons to Join a Critique Group

What if you could have a whole group of people meet regularly to analyze your manuscript, for free? Sound too good to be true? It isn’t. It’s called a critique group.